American manned lunar rover. Study 2000. The Habot (Habitat Robot) modules would land on six articulated legs, which also provided the locomotion. These walking modules could operate autonomously or in a teleoperation mode.

The modules could be combined to form a multi-module pressurized lunar base.

Each module was up to 5 m diameter with a mass of 10 metric tons. The pressure vessels had hexagonal shapes to allow clustering with other units. Photovoltaic cells on the top of the modules produced the power required during the lunar day (14 earth days). Movement would only be conducted during the lunar day. The units would cluster and remain stationary at minimum power levels for the lunar nights. A crew of 6, using several Habot units, could be accommodated on a 100 day lunar mission.

Lunar Rovers Lunar rovers were studied in a dizzying variety of sizes and shapes by NASA in the 1960's - including crawlers, trains, hoppers, and even worms. Two rovers designed for manned use actually traveled the lunar surface in the 1970's - the American two-man Lunar Rover, and the Soviet Lunokhod, which traveled the moon in robotic mode but was originally designed as emergency cosmonaut transportation. More...